Our Pastor

Jud Jordan

Jud Jordan, lead pastor of Embark Church, grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina until his father made good on the promise and actually sent him to military school. It was at Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia that Jud and his parents realized he needed a disciplined environment if he were to survive. So he attended and graduated from The Citadel in 1996. Upon graduation he was commissioned as an US Army Armor Officer and spent 3 years on active duty at Fort Hood, Texas. Within a year, Jud married Cathy, a graduate of the College of Charleston and MUSC.

Growing Up

Growing up, Jud’s parents took him to church as a child. Like many, he attended church but it never really “took.” His high school and college years were devoid of faith, church and God. While at Fort Hood however, something supernatural happened. God began stirring in his heart.

At first, Jud became more and more interested in Jesus and simply attended church to learn more about Him. Over the next year however, Jud came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized. He continued to grow in his faith and soon after, began wondering if God was calling him into ministry. Trying to discern if this was where God was leading, Jud left active duty Army, joined the South Carolina Army National Guard, moved to Columbia, South Carolina and worked as an Information Technology Director for an online accounting start-up firm.

Mission

God continued working on his heart for ministry over the next year. Finally, in 2002, Jud listened. He entered and graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary
located in Decatur, Georgia and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 2005. He served as an associate pastor at Eastminster Presbyterian Church located in Columbia, South Carolina until First Presbyterian Church of Orangeburg called him to be their Senior Pastor in 2007. After serving for 5 years, in February 2013, he and Cathy felt called to start a church. Believing this was to be in Columbia, they put their house on the market and began the transition. However, it became overwhelmingly evident through people and circumstances that God wanted Embark in Orangeburg. As a result, on Easter morning, March 31, 2013, a group of 18 people began worshiping God in a house and Embark Church was born.